The Three Slashes Fire has caused incredible devastation at the Island Unit in the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.

Cottonwood and Willow trees are now charred by the 4,200 acre Three Slashes Fires.

As of Wednesday afternoon, it was 40 percent contained.

This is an area known well by hunters ... now shutdown for an unknown amount of time.

Mike Oldham with the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge explains there’s "a lot of dove hunting, quail hunting, big game hunting goes on here. And right now it seems to be the main focus of where the main part of this fire is."

He adds this will be in impact for the hunting season.

The land in this area is so hot it will melt shoes.

Walking and driving in the island unit has become dangerous because of melted pipes beneath the dirt. The fire has melted plastic piping beneath the dirt … making roads and walking areas unstable.

Several roads have even caved in.

Damaged pipes also threaten wildlife, preventing water from getting to the wetlands.

This only further damages the habitat home to doves, deer and quail.

Odham explains "we normally start flooding our fields in the first or second week of September. Right now with all the infrastructure down we can't even start delivering water to the wetlands."

Farm Unit Two remains open, but is not as heavily used for hunters.

The Three Slashes Fire continues to burn nearby.

Firefighters trying to fight fire with fire by back burning the blazes.

Lori Cooke with the Bureau of Land Management explains "they will actually light the fire a distance away, strategically to where they know the fire is going to come."

The wildfire’s between two small residential areas … Mitchell’s Camp and Walter’s Camp.

Crews took control of a small spot fire near Walter’s Camp early Wednesday.

Firefighters do not believe the areas are threatened.

However, smoke is affecting the air quality and has blown all the way to Blythe and Lake Havasu areas.

Fire officials believe the wildfire was sparked over the weekend, during Saturday night’s storm.

The fire grew quickly – from one acre to 1,000 in less than a day.

It’s being fueled by scorching temperatures, gusting winds and dense vegetation.

Cooke explains "when it's very thick you can't even get into the area to even begin fighting the fire."

In addition, air crews are not available as they are fighting other fires threatening homes and businesses throughout the US.

Cooke tells News 11 these current conditions are why fire restrictions will continue through Labor Day Weekend in the Yuma, Lake Havasu and Kingman areas.

This means no open campfires, charcoal grills and stove fires unless on approved sites.

In addition, there is no smoking, use of fireworks or flares, or welding allowed on public land.